This invention is generally directed to an apparatus and methods of its use for separating particulates from liquids by filtration and further removing liquids from the particulates by drying. The present invention is greatly efficient in filtering and drying to yield a high quality product by employing a single container for both filtering and drying operations.
As known, particularly in producing chemical and pharmaceutical compositions, use is made of large filtration chambers and fluid-bed dryers. The filtration chambers generally consist of vessels, usually cylindrical, comprising a bottom part, a filter plate assembly, and a top part having diameters between 300 and 5,000 mm. The filtration chambers are used to remove liquids from particulate materials and solids.
Furthermore, the solids can be transferred to a fluid-bed dryer that uses a gas stream to remove moisture from the solids. Significantly, during the transfer of the solids from the filtration chamber to the fluid-bed dryer, the solids can be contaminated, spilled, lost, and/or degraded.